[attach id=269651 size="medium"]Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has pledged to facilitate business for small companies. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi[/attach]
Businesses in Malta should not only be given the space to operate but also be assured of a level playing field, without disadvantages or excess bureaucracy, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said yesterday.
He said his government was pro-business and was therefore pledging a radical culture change in the public sector to facilitate small businesses, the driving force of the country’s economy.
In a meeting with the Chamber for Small and Medium Enterprises – GRTU, which was also attended by a number of Cabinet members, Dr Muscat said he had no problem with foreign businesses selling products in Malta provided they paid the same taxes as their Maltese counterparts, be that VAT, eco tax or any other levy.
He said such a scenario would not only benefit local businesses but consumers too stood to gain.
Dr Muscat said the Government was already working on its first “proper” Budget.
He was targeting a “leaner” pre-Budget document, containing just guidelines. Ideas would be expected from people and there would be a shorter “no frills” Budget speech and Parlia-mentary process.
In line with its pledge to give the private sector more space in which to work, he said the Government had “tested the waters” on its willingness to invest in certain pro-jects such as land reclamation, the energy sector and others.
“The response we had was unexpected and resounding,” he said.
“It will be a Budget that will see the implementation of the electoral pledge to reduce water and electricity bills, giving people more disposable income while, at the same time, assuring that the country’s financial targets are met,” he said.
Concern that industry is not finding the right people to fill vacancies
Dr Muscat said he was concerned that industry was not finding the right people to fill vacancies.
The skills mismatch was also worrying. While continuing to expand on strong sectors such as financial services, remote gaming and IT, the Government wanted to focus on persuading youths to choose career paths in, say, the manufacturing and tourism sectors.
He said the Government was working on an employability index, for youth to be given clear guidance on the chances of finding a job if they chose a particular career.
Dr Muscat emphasised the need to increase innovation within the public sector, noting that, at present, those who retained the status quo were not penalised while those who introduced innovative ways of doing the same thing were not praised when they did their job but neither penalised when they did not.
GRTU president Paul Abela complained about excess bureaucracy the organisation’s 12,000 members were facing.
“Businesses are giving up. Self-employed people are regarded as parasites or beggars when appearing before the Malta Environment and Planning Authority. There are always new rules and procedures.
“We believe in your deter-mination to eradicate this and bring about a breath of fresh air in this sector,” he told the Prime Minister.
He noted that the number of foreigners working in Malta was growing fast because companies were facing a serious lack of trained locals.
Mr Abela said his organisation was concerned about the Budget deficit, adding it had requested an urgent meeting of the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development to discuss the issue and the excessive deficit procedure the European Commission had initiated against Malta.
However, this was never granted, leading him to comment that “MCESD has not started to function yet”.
The meeting continued behind closed doors.